President Obama's first stop was a private reception at the Midtown home of campaign contributor and entrepreneur Mac Wilbourn. As the president got out of his limo, he greeted neighbors to the sounds of cheers.

"Don't push, don't push," the president said as the group crowded around him for photos across the street from Wilbourn's home.

After leaving Wilbourn's home, the president's motorcade drove to the southwest Atlanta studios of movie mogul Tyler Perry for a fundraiser and reception.

At the campaign appearance at Tyler Perry Studios, Obama cast the Republican Party as holding a "fundamentally different vision about who we are as a country" and compared his challengers unfavorably with his 2008 presidential opponent, Sen. John McCain.

"That shift that has taken place in the Republican Party we haven't seen in a very long time," he said. "In 2008, the guy I was running against, the Republican nominee, he didn't deny that climate change might be a problem, he thought it was a good idea for us to ban torture, he was on record as having supported immigration reform."

The Obama campaign's African American Leadership Council's gala featured a performance by singer Cee Lo Green. General admission tickets were $500. VIP tickets ranged from $2,500 to $10,000.

A more intimate dinner for 40 at Perry's home was expected to raise $35,800 per guest. Among those attending was Oprah Winfrey.

The president left Atlanta, taking off from Hartsfield-Jackson, shortly after 11 p.m.